People Like You - Ruby
by ClockworkArceus
Summary: The headcanon backstory for Team Magma's leader, Maxie. It'll cover their childhood, family, college years, and the early days of the ill-fated team that at first only wanted to save humanity. What happened to lead them to the day when the sun lit the sky ablaze? (This is one half of the full People Like You, though they don't have to both be read to get the complete story - yet.)
1. Chapter One - Come back, My Dear

" _I'm sure you've heard this from almost everyone that went through something like this, but it doesn't feel like a day has passed."_

The sun was quickly setting when it happened - Maxie remembered that much. Most of the light that trickled into the captain's cabin was from the glaring red navigation bulbs, and the buoys that floated by, not to be seen again. But at the very least, it was enough to read.

He was tucked under the whole boat's worth of blankets and flicking through a ragged, paperback book - The Story of the Faraway Minior, covered with intricate illustrations. The colour was starting to rub off, but he could read the text - it didn't matter. He'd been on page 16 for a couple of minutes now, holding the page open and gazing out the porthole, dazily.

A few days ago, he had been whisked out of the last day of 2nd grade, term two and onto his father's yacht. For a job, said his mother, for experience, said his father, handing him a small pink - waterproof! - camera, and a leathery bag for it.

For the view, he thought to himself, while the boat sailed out onto the open seas. From Route 104 onto the peaceful, warm waters of Route 105. He'd swum all by himself, all the way out to the Island Cave, safe in the morning sun, impressive for a boy of seven. His parents watched, his mother cooing over how well he was doing, before snatching him up, drying him off, and lying down for a good-old-fashioned sunbathe.

But the sea looked fantastic in the late evening moonlight. Glassy waves and gently bobbing metal machines, signalling to the ship's captain in unison. He didn't know what they were supposed to mean, but he was pretty sure if they glittered green, then that was something going well.

It wasn't, as the beginning of a lot of books went, a dark and stormy night.

Still, it was unusually quiet.

At around 7 in the evening, the boy started hearing the distinctive clunk of iron boots drowning out the ocean waves. "It's fifty texts now?" questioned a gruff voice, before reaching out for a -

 _Knock._

The book snapped shut.

"Maxie?..." Knock. "I'm back! Your dinner's ready!" someone said, carefully pushing open the old door. Standing there was a raggedy man - dusty wetsuit, leather jacket, carrying one of the buoys, the works. There was a towel wrapped around his neck too, smelling of sea salt and rust, just as always.

"Dad?" Maxie whispered, untangling himself and popping his head out to see.

"Ey' there!" he nodded, stepping inside. "Your mum's made us some Magikarp and chips - "

He watched as the blankets flew off and Maxie stood up to his full, tiny height. " …I, ah... bought us some ice-cream too, if you want some...Come on out when you're ready!..." He trailed off, clicking the wood-panel door carefully shut before his son shoved them open again, running out and out onto the glistening ship's deck.

"So did you find anything?" his son twittered as he ran behind him - "I put - " Maxie explained, picking a battery out of his pocket, " - these things in the camera! See?" The screen lit up with a whimsical startup chime, showing the white fuzz of his most recent photo. "Ah, good...There was quite a lot down there, actually - I jumped off of the boat backwards, I went underneath it, and decided to write down how far it was to the bottom of the sea..." he explained, talking almost as fast as Maxie was while pointing to the black abyss.

"How far was it? Can you swim down there?...Do you have to get a submarine?"

"...You know how far we've got to walk to the shops in Lavaridge Town?"

Maxie nodded, leaning precariously over he rusted metal railing.

"At least five times as far." his father explained, shuffling through his pocket.

"Wow."

"I kept finding these beautiful fish that looked like hearts, pink coral creatures, all the way until I hit th ocean floor. This seal that looked like a beach ball came up to say hello to me while it...tried to eat them." he finished, bending down to Maxie's height.

Right on cue, a school of rosy-red fish darted like confetti around the boat. The ball-seal thing chased after them, parting the waves and staring briefly up at Maxie with bright round eyes.

"Just like those fish."

"They're...pretty."

None of them came back up to pose for Richard's camera. The lens was covered in sea salt anyway. "I don't think...I have any pictures of them…" he muttered sheepishly, fiddling with a hundred dials and knobs while Maxie stared at the ocean, "Sorry, I know you wanted to see a Spheal before I get you one…"

"So...it ate the camera too?" Maxie questioned, "Did it try and eat you?"

Richard muttered something hoarsely that Maxie didn't understand.

"No - no, the camera is fine. I'll try and find you a picture tomorrow. Promise!" Richard finally told him, shoving the camera back into his backpack and leading Maxie indoors, out of the rain that was starting to tap upon the deck.

"I'll teach you to take pictures! Real pictures! How about that, eh?"

Maxie gave a small nod and squeezed the hand in his.

"And we'll show Mum." he suddenly muttered. "She'll be very impressed with us."

"Ah - Richard?" the small looking woman behind him called, "You were supposed to be setting those foundations," she clarified, taking Maxie by the hand instead. Hurriedly, turning him away from Richard and pulling him inside. "Don't worry yourself about the camera. He's supposed to be doing mathematics, now, isn't he?"

"No?"

"Yes, he is, I'll find some pictures he can look at on Google. ...Come."

Her long, red lace dress flew back into Maxie's face while she strutted into the dining room. She had a tight grip on his hand, using the other to pull a chair out for him and sweep the cutlery in front of him. There was a hot, steaming dinner on the tiny table - chips wrapped in newspaper, fish on an old, chipped plate.

(No ice cream, though.)

"Any results?" she inquired, blankly staring at the plate.

"N...No, dear. Not today." Richard told her, briskly - "Unfortunately." he added, but no-one heard him through the mouthful of chips. "I've been trying to get some measurements for how much tempered steel's going to be needed to reach the ocean floor, but since they haven't sent me the equipment for that, I've been taking a survey of the marine life that'll be disturbed."

"Like Luvdisc and Spheals - " Maxie cut in seamlessly, "and Gorebyss, and Huntails, and everything else - "

"So, you were sightseeing." Peri interrupted, smirking.

"No, but - see, I'm getting paid for it, and there's some stuff I can show Maxie so he can decide what he'd want his starter to be. There's that. I'll take you out sometime, it'd be romantic."

"...Oh, stop it." she tittered cheekily, "Arceus, you sound like a freshman trying to get a first date."

"That's a no?"

"No." Peri declined, "Show me something you did today that'll keep us afloat."

Richard frantically shuffled through a pile of papers in his lap; filled with a jumble of words like "div", "llimony", "stody", Maxie's full title (3 middle names and all), and Richard's shaky signature.

"You don't want to be up the creek without a paddle," Peri smiled, before dropping her voice - "since you're having so much talk about being independent, recently...

None of them seemed to be the ones he wanted - one dropped onto the floor, fluttering away in the draft before Maxie could stomp his foot onto it.

"Hm?"

Bang; the boot found the target.

"I'm just confused why you're making ocean puns right now."

The little receipt got pulled out from under the table.

Noctowl Lawyer and Co.

Peri just chuckled under her breath. "Why not, dear?"

He kicked the receipt far, far under the rug.

"You know, the guy from the GMH's started calling me for news. 'Peri, Peri, can you ask your husband if his work's done…' ...Stuff like that."

She laughed under her breath.

"The redhead one?" Richard noted, suddenly looking up.

"The redhead? - " Maxie asked, remembering the name, ", what'd he do? - " before quickly shutting his mouth as Peri sat upright in her seat. She was shaking her head, hurriedly - fork frozen halfway between her and the plate. Her face softened quickly and she tried to look innocent.

"Nobody important." Richard told him, sweetly as possible. "Anyway,?so...that would explain all the, uh...missed messages I saw on your phone last night."

"Ohh." she sighed.

"Yeah. Anyway, you told him to bugger off, ri - "

"You were on my phone?" Peri asked, voice cut and dry.

"Well, uh, yeah, it was buzzing and being annoying so...I checked it...last night. and there were like...50 missed calls."

"Right." Peri nodded.

Carefully, she brushed her phone off the table and into her lap.

"Still, what a...a bastard to be calling for work at 3 in the morning!." Richard muttered, vaguely, barely audible to anyone.

"Can I block him quickly? Really quickly?" he blurted, reaching for Peri's phone, still smiling.

"Arceus almighty, Richard, what's gotten into you?" she gasped. The phone got swept straight off the table and into her lap.

"Sorry, sorry, I was...joking - "

"Oh, I'm sure." Peri remarked quietly, "If you wanted to get him off my contact list, you could have just asked me. I...I honestly think he's creepy too, honestly!"

"Oh." Richard groaned, turning away.

"Look - " Peri snapped, "You're really overthinking this. I can tell you've been ranting to my baby about this guy and I think you should just - " she snatched the phone, " - just stop. ...Goodnight." She left, muttering incoherently, she took the plate, she sauntered out the door and shut it with a metallic BANG.

"May I…" Maxie started, after taking his last bite of food. He trailed off, losing his tongue halfway through.

"May you leave the table?" Richard completed, pulling out his chair, "Yes."

He seemed reluctant.

"It's alright. We don't need to ask Mummy this time." Richard reassured him, taking away the plates, letting Maxie follow him with his pile of cutlery like a duckling. "She's finished."

"Mmhm."

Carefully Maxie tipped everything in his hands into the sink, with a grating sound, before turning to leave as always.

"Maxie?"

Gently, Richard was placing a hand on his shoulder, being careful not to startle him.

"I'm gonna have a talk with Mummy tonight, so just...go straight to sleep tonight, mkay?"

"Okay…?" Maxie repeated, confused as to why Richard was getting up, confused as to why Richard was smiling and walking away. Before he could ask why, he rounded the corner of the boat and disappeared.

Quietly, he started tip-toeing back to his rosy, honey-lit room. The book he was reading was still under his arm, long enough to keep him up late enough - because god damnit, he wasn't going to fall asleep instantly.

Faintly he could hear his dad's iron boots pacing around, and he wondered if they were coming back this way. The book quickly got shoved under his pajama top where no one would see it.

He grabbed the doorknob, turned it, opened the door to his room, and -

Someone else's hand gripped on his shoulder.

"Dear?"

He didn't turn. The pressure on his shoulder was giving him something like pins and needles and he didn't know why.

"Max - " Peri repeated, spinning him around, "Oh, Maxie! I was wondering where you'd gotten to! Are you alright, duckling?"

"Y-Yes?..."

"Don't need me to read you a story, or anything?" she offered, a hand on his back and an eye on the square lump in his top, "You look positively petrified."

Maxie was silent this time, letting himself be placed on the chair in his room.

"Do you know that word?" she questioned to herself, before starting to fiddle with her jewellery. She picked up the default reading book, The Story of King Politoed, holding it there while she talked.

"I'm...very sorry." she explained gravely. "I'm sorry about the whole kerfuffle at dinner-time."

Again, Maxie didn't have a word to say.

"Mm." she concluded, before propping up Maxie's chin a little bit. "Your...dad won't be able to read tonight. He's working."

"I thought he was going to have the talk with you." he corrected, as he watched Peri's face go from grave to positively dead.

Her eyes were darting back to the door.

"Well, yes, he's probably just going to...tell me off now." she explained, under her breath.

"That's what he meant, you see?"

Any kid would know that.

"Yeah." Maxie replied, wondering if Peri was going to go already.

"I think I'll read to you tonight."

"Which one?"

"Any one. Any one at all." Peri told him quickly, hands fumbling for any book she could recognize, before her hands slowly came to a stop.

"Actually...no, maybe later," she concluded, handing him The Story of King Politoed. She ran her fingers over the ornate cover for the last time before turning her back and striding out. "You can read to yourself tonight. Don't stay up."

"Goodnight, sleep tight - "

Then the door clicked tightly shut.

"See you in the morning light." she told him, muffled through the glass. "Promise you'll sleep?..."

There was one click, two clicks as she walked slowly away.

Well then, Maxie thought to himself, clicking the button on his pocket torch, if she was going to make an offer and then run away, I'll have to keep myself occupied.

The Story of King Politoed was an interesting one. You knew the ending was coming, yet you wanted to see it anyway for humor's sake. The name on the bottom of the cover was the same as Faraway Minior, and there was the same glittery gold paint on the -

Something clicked.

The torchlight died.

Someone was whispering, singing like a bird. Just outside the door.

"Look, see, he's fine." Peri cooed to Richard. "Sleeping like a baby."

Maxie opened one of his screwed up eyes a tiny crack. Hopefully no-one could tell.

Peri was gently stroking the doorframe, leaning away from Richard. For a moment he swore they made eye contact and he saw.

"We'll wake him up, though," Richard pointed out, "We'll start shouting or something..."

"Oh, for Arceus' sake, that's not every time- "

Maxie's heart gave him a nasty kick.

"Or we'll deal with this like adults. You never know." Richard reassured her, his voice fading as he closed the door gently, "Dont...don't worry yourself! You always say he doesn't understand much anyway." Peri quickly pulled the door shut after that.

Maxie gave a great sigh of relief. He pushed open the pages and started reading himself to sleep. Maybe this would take his mind off the one track it was ...probably on.

 _Once upon a time, there was a kingdom of Poliwags and Poliwhirls…_

"Well, of course he doesn't." Peri commented.

 _And a great king Politoed._

...rude.

" _Every day, the Poliwag dived into the mud to get juicy, healthy Tangela Vines. Sometimes they got stuck, sometimes they couldn't see, but they learned to have fun._

At this point, Peri always pointed out how the Poliwag were like the other children Maxie always saw in playgrounds and classrooms.

 _The Poliwag who dived the deepest always got the best berries..._

It certainly felt good not to be interrupted this time.

"It can't be that important, can it?"

What was that?

"Ahaha! For Groudon's sake, you're still wearing half a diving suit. You're supposed to be working tonight. Can we...wait until the morning? I didn't get a wink of sleep yesterday."

 _Except for the King Politoed._

He shouldn't half-read, Maxie reminded himself, that's not good.

 _The King Politoed always had a crick in his neck, or a meeting with the King Rapidash, or Poliwhirl Princes to take care of..._

"It'll only take a second." Richard reassured her, "I..., uh, found something."

"...Spit it out." Peri chuckled. It was cute when he did this; rather endearing. "Are we...are we going to be moving to Sinnoh like we talked about? Are we going to be sending our little professor to the academy you looked up yesterday?"

"I want you to...properly explain this." Richard asked of her, pulling something out his pocket, ignoring the notification jingle he got a few seconds later. "Start to finish. All the fifty missed calls you got from that red-head supervisor guy. David."

Silence. Another notification jingle right on cue and Peri gasped in horror.

[ Hey, poof! You up for Wednesday night in the Parisian Pelliper? ]

" _ **Oh."**_

 _But what no-one knew is that the King Politoed really hated mud. Icky, slimy, disgusting…_

"I had a look through the texts you got, to see if I was getting reprimanded or something," Richard explained, clearing his voice. "It...wasn't." he sighed at last, "So I...decided to print this out. Would you...sign here?"

 _But one of the Poliwhirl princes overheard -_

No, never mind the book. Maxie was upright in his bed tentatively listening. Hopefully no-one barged in without warning, or that would be the end of him.

"No." Peri grunted, gritting her teeth.

"I...don't think we can keep the marriage going like this. I'm considering divorce."

"Rich...Rich, you're losing me here." Peri started laughing nervously, "Let's calm down!...we could try something else! We could try marriage counseling. Renewing the vows. A second honeymoon."

"This boat trip was our second honeymoon."

"Third, then."

"Actually, wasn't it our...fifth?..."

Peri just groaned and let her back thump against the ship's wall.

"It's fine. You'll be fine." Richard comforted her quietly, clicking the pen and unfurling the papers, "You're young, you can remarry, and I can retire alone and happy. But what we have right now...shouldn't be like what I read. Okay?"

"I have a CHILD, for goodness sake!" his wife hissed, "At least we could - ...uh…- wait until he's eighteen or sixteen, or at least matured properly. Then you can get rid of me."

"Peri, I don't want to get rid of you -"

"You don't have to," she whispered, "I'll cut off the guy. Everything will be right back to normal. Just like you told Maxie."

Richard lay far back against the creaking railings, groaning deeply.

"I know what I want this time."

Around then, Maxie decided he'd better distract himself.

 _Of course, the Poliwhirl's first idea was to spread the word, shout it from the rooftops and so on, but…_

"At least...do one thing. One thing." she begged, voice cracking with tears, [C] "Scarlett...Scarlett and my mum, they're…going to be meeting us in the harbor and having us at theirs for Christmas."

"Yes?"

"Don't tell them. Don't tell them anything. They're from a different time. They still use 'bastard' like it's a legal term. We...we agreed that if Maxie grew up...I don't know, and turned gay or something, we wouldn't say anything."

"They'd need to know." Richard hissed, "...Rather now than later."

"And rather never than later." Peri retorted.

"...They'll figure it out as soon it gets out how we split up. Take brown-haired guy and a grey-haired woman with my red-head supervisor, and a son with hair red as a Charmander, Peri - don't delude yourself. They've probably already worked it out." he snapped, bitterly.

Quickly Maxie shone his torch on his hair, just to make sure there hadn't been some horrible mistake.

If Maxie listened closely enough, he could hear some pen scratching on paper.

"...Thankyou." Richard sighed. "I'll introduce you to the divorce lawyer soon as we come back to shore."

"...Right."

The pair tip-tapped away, footsteps in sync, their monotone chattering voices slowly fading into the white noise of rain. Maxie couldn't hear any distinct words, eventually deciding he couldn't be bothered trying that hard, and opened up the book. His eyes were weighing down now, just like they were meant to.

 _So one day, when the Politoed King was taking a walk by the tram-line, picking daisies to make a flower crown, the Poliwag and friends saw -_

They kept talking.

(He tried not to listen to them. It would only make him wonder. What did they mean by grey, brown, redhead? Was that supposed to be bad? Did he look wrong?)

 _\- him and asked him if he wanted to go for a dip! They promised him Magikarp sushi and Oran Berries if he helped them…_

 _But he didn't. They asked him again!_

(Why weren't you able to shut your ears the same way you could close a door? They were talking again, they were talking about him! -)

 _He was rather annoyed when they did!_

He felt sick.

 _The Poliwag were most surprised!_

Tomorrow, he'd go up to Dad and ask him if he told a little white lie. Or two. Or three. If he was coming towards his room, like he thought he was, he could ask him right there and then, and he'd be able to sleep that night.

 _They asked him AGAIN with a cherry on top!_

"Well, at least," Richard mused, in a sing-song voice, "you can be with the other guy once you're done with me."

Maxie heard the dull thump of a diving suit hitting the wall and sliding down it. Someone cussing and storming off to the captain's cabin and out of sight.

 _And when he said no again…_

"Wait...Peri, Peri, come on, you know I, ah, uh...d-don't actually...believe that, don't you? You're better than that!" Richard stammered, coughing, running hopelessly after Peri in his iron boots.

" **Come back, dear. Please."**

Then, just as Maxie was about to get back into bed and shut his eyes tight shut - there echoed a dull, painful clang, then another, and another. His dad gave a scream right after his mother swore, yelling that she'd broken something.

And Maxie felt a -

\- clunk -

\- thump -

 **\- ...and a splash.**

Cautiously, he shuffled across the room and opened the door a tiny crack, pink camera in hand, just in case. The boat was back to normal, rocking gently in the calm ocean water.

"Mum? Dad? What happened, what's going on?"

Peri was fixed in position over the edge, hand still outstretched and frozen.

There was a large bruise on her cheek, but other than that - her face was completely blank.

He tip-toed over to the boat's side, peering over the edge to see if a Wailord or a Gyrados had hit them by mistake.

He assumed Peri was leaning over to see it too, and he assumed the strange crowing sound coming from the water was it yelling that it bumped its head.

For a brief moment, he saw something in the waves, something like a hand. It was still moving, grasping, flailing wildly for the ropes on the side of the ship but never managing to catch them.

Gentle, plaintive gurgles that sounded sort of human came from the water. Once or twice, Maxie could swear he heard his name.

The sick feeling of dread came back.

Then, slowly, without protest, it disappeared from view and went to sleep in the ocean below.

The water was silent again.

That was the last thing Maxie saw before Peri pulled him in and tightly squeezed him against her, patting his head affectionately and telling him over and over again that it was going to be okay, that he was fine, that she wouldn't let him fall - she was breathing raggedly, shaking all over and still watching the water where the hand had been.

Then, it hit Maxie.

"Mum, where'd Dad go?"

"He...left." Peri whispered, rocking Maxie back and forth like a doll.

 **Yes. He left."**


	2. Chapter 2 - A Silent Night

__" _I'm sure you've heard this from almost everyone that went through something like this, but it doesn't feel like a day has passed."_

By the time Peri reached the end of her story, she'd used up two handkerchiefs, three tissues, and sent her son as far away as possible. "I...I still feel like I'm adjusting to life without him," she sniffled, "Like there's an empty hole where 'dad' used to be, and I can't fill it."

"You alright, dearie?"

"Oh, I'm fine, fiiii...no, no..."

Leaning on the armchair she sat on was her mother, Rachel, petting her hair like she always did when her little Peri got upset.

"Well...Is Maxie doing better now?" she asked emphatically, "See, you might think you're not doing so well, but if he's developing fine, you're doing fine...that's how I see it, at least."

"Haven't really seen him much," her sister, Scarlett, commented with a glass of wine in her hand, "I had something I wanted to give to them. ...Actually, I haven't seen them in forever."

"Ahh, I think you're a little late..."

"Peri!"

"The presents got unwrapped 2 hours ago." Peri explained, "It'd be unexpected for him."

"Alright, well…" Scarlet sighed, "Tell me how he's coping at least."

"You won't _judge,_ will you?"

"...no?"

"Oho, don't worry. He can't hear us!" Rachel laughed, getting her two daughters to laugh along, "Say what you want."

"Ohh, haha! It might sound a little pretentious, but…"

Maxie could, in fact, hear them.

"He's doing fantastically, fantastically! I'll tell you all about it after dinner!"

It was almost an act of defiance; taking a few moments out of his time to tune into whatever the adults babbled about behind his back. Had they kicked him out because they thought he'd drink the Pinot Noir, whatever that was? After all, Rachel wasn't too happy when Peri tried to give him a small sip.

Probably because it tasted terrible.

Then again, why would they mention Dad if it were just about that?

"He's started learning - "

He was meant to be concentrating.

"Kalosian last month, pétanque this month - as I said, pretentious...oh, and piano - "

"Ahh. The piano."

Either way, it helped him forget there was a ten-year-old standing on his shoulders.

"Have you got them? My arms are getting really, reaaaaaally tired," he groaned, adjusting a little bit.

He'd been perched on a desk for at least ten minutes now, while his mother's friend's child, Barnaby, Barney - whatever, tried to reach an inconspicuous little tin on the shelf of a dusty old bookcase.

"Hold on, hold on!" ordered Barnaby, teetering on his left arm, "I've nearly got the biscuits!"

No-one would blame him if he dropped this kid on the...kind of soft, carpeted floor.

The crowd behind him might cheer, they were kids.

"Are you done NOW?"

"I promise, I'll give you the tea biscuits when I come down. It's only fair, you spotted them!"

"I hate tea biscuits..." Maxie growled, while every other boy and girl in the room screamed their favourite kind of biscuit right into his ear.

"Naaah, you'll love them! Alright, I've got it!" Barnaby cried at last, knocking the tin off the shelf and bringing down a book or two with it, "Shall I throw them?"

"Uh - "

"That's a yes."

"THROW THEM! THROW THEM!" chanted all of Maxie's cousins while Barnaby cracked open the tin, his face lit up by the silver inside. Bouncing a little, Maxie joined in with the mob.

Come to think of it, what even _was_ his favourite kind of biscuit?

"Aight, I'll just stick my hand in and pull out whatever…"

"Oh, wonderful! Open it up then!" Maxie trilled while Barnaby popped the lid off and closed his eyes.

Silence, apart from the clunk of his hand on the metal.

He certainly knew how to build suspense.

That is, until Maxie's jaw got kicked by a stray leg.

"OW!" Barnaby screeched, "What the - WHY THE BLOODY 'ELL ARE THERE NEEDLES IN 'ERE?!"

He was right. How could he not? - they were stuck in his palm, tangled 'round his fingers. While he flailed in surprise, needles, string, pins, buttons, scissors rained down on the watching crowd. The young ones ducked, the older ones weren't surprised in the least. And of course, the small kids screamed, and screamed with laughter once they saw what Maxie just did.  
Predictable as ever, scaredy-cat as ever, he'd scuttled off like a spooked deer.  
And let go.

Barnaby hit the floor with a thud and a collective 'ooohh' from everyone watching. Valiantly, he still held that false prophet of a biscuit box in his hand, directly upright, raining pins onto his face which turned to face the culprit. His sisters, all four of them, and the oldest brother turned to glare at the small child tucked into the desk's small nook.

"Did you know?" Barnaby groaned painfully, sitting up with a crick in his back.

"...No, I don't know - what?"  
"Did you know...that that was full of needles?"

"So is that your idea of a joke?" asked the first sister, "Because - "

"Cause it's, like...not even slightly funny." hissed the second.

"I'm pretty sure we could've died!" suggested the tiny third one.

"...Actually, I think both of you are stupid." muttered the oldest fourth one, leaving the room and never returning.

"They - they looked like biscuits! I swear!" Maxie protested, stammering heavily as ever, "Actually, YOU'RE the one that tricked US, Barnaby, you dropped the tin! You dropped it! -"  
"Huh?"  
"But - of course I…"

"You really need new glasses, don't you?" Barnaby snorted.

"Alright, tell you what," he said, "I saw your mother bringing in this really nice looking cake, but she said there's brandy in it, so we ain't allowed to eat it...Would you help a poor starving kid on Christmas?...One with bloody PINS stuck in their hand?" Sharply, he pulled Maxie to his feet.  
"No," he snapped.  
"Too bad. How's this sound? You help us or we - "  
"Tell on you!" chimed the third sister.  
"Or we do the thing they did on TV - "  
"Yes! - "  
"The one about Team Rocket!"  
"Why don't we just shut this brat - "  
"Out the house!"  
"Up for good!"

"I'll do it myself." laughed the second sister, brushing needles off her dress and trying to sound threatening.

And with that, Barnaby dragged Maxie off to the living room by the back of his Christmas sweater.

The cavernous great hall smelt of oak and wine, paper and pines - full of everyone that was comfortable leaving their children in the office to eat, drink, and be merry, while " _Domitian's 'Silent Museum' Nocturne No. 1"_ played in the background. Taillows flew from left to right, struggling to carry the streamers in their talons, the cage of Kricketots Scarlett had brought chirped like windchimes. The sun set outside, but inside, the candles kept burning.  
They'd enough to last them until midnight and beyond.  
Peri herself was at the centre of the party, laughing heartily and pouring herself more Pinot Noir. Her friends crowded around her, shielding her from the rest of the room - and the cake, in fact - pouring themselves a glass a minute. She boasted about how she could notice the fruity notes inside it, but didn't notice her son ducking behind the couch.

"...Where's the cake again?" Barnaby whispered, poking his head up, "My mum didn't bring nothing, remember."

"I don't know, I don't know!" Maxie hissed back as he got pushed under the huge banquet table, bumping his head on the top with a clatter of knives and forks. Scarlett's Shinx, snoozing in the corner awoke with a start. The centerpiece trifle almost fell to pieces.

Why did Maxie agree to this, exactly?

One word. One word and then Peri could and would angrily drag Barnaby and his brethren out of his sight, hopefully banned from any future Christmas parties.

He'd be branded as a tattle-tale, yes, but it'd still achieve what he wanted.

Meanwhile, Peri leant back against the table, still babbling about all of the jobs she'd applied for. A Poke-Mart clerk, an actress, an Officer Jenny (as if), a Pokémon Breeder...Scarlett just had to nod and sip her sparkling water. She'd put down her wine glass, hoping not to be seen as a drunkard again.

"So as I was saying, I THEN applied to be a teacher at the Rustboro School," she continued, "but of course they rejected me as soon as I mentioned I might have to take care of my son now and then…"

"Mmhm."

"So...now I'm basically jobless."

" _What?"_

All the while, Peri didn't see the two ten-year olds sneaking below the table underneath her. The tablecloth hid them relatively well.

She was too busy watching her sister spit her drink out

"Oh?" she murmured into her wine glass, "Wow. That's, like...the second Christmas in a row, huh? That must...suck…"

"They always - they always lay you off at Christmas," Peri pointed out, "It's because I'm a single mum. That's what I think."

"You should try being a Nurse Joy in the meantime!"  
"And dye my hair bright pink?"  
"If you want to be the one at the front desk, all you have to pay for is the hair dye, no - no qualifications needed. Kept me going, at least…"  
"Ahh, have some self-respect! Don't talk about yourself like that! That stuff doesn't, you know...get you anywhere," Peri explained, slapping her hand on Scarlett's shoulder, "my advice is get a _nice_ job, get a _nice_ house, then you start worrying…"  
Scarlett struggled to remember whether she'd bothered to tell Peri about the house.  
"Oh," Peri added with a smirk, "and a nice _guy,_ mind _._ Eventually, you get lucky."  
"I'll...I'll be fine."

As her sister slowly moved off, she even left the wine behind.

"Oh, don't give me that look..." Peri mumbled, before downing the whole glass in one gulp.

How did she do such a feat, Maxie pondered, as he watched his mother closely - she ripped the tin foil off a nearby plate to reveal -

The cake?

Peri looked on it like a trophy; after all, even though it looked like it was falling apart, the cake was just as...viscous as Peri had intended, and the crisp on the edges was perfectly planned. The burnt...the burnt fruity notes of the toppings was something everyone could pick up on.

Especially Rachel, bakery snob that she was.

Barnaby and Maxie, though, only stared up at the chocolate-black cherry on top. Just a few feet above him on the table - so close he might be able to knock it off if he wanted.

"Cor, look at that!"

"Where do we go?'" Maxie murmured, "Also, we should wait…"

"Are you kidding? This is the best chance we're gonna get. Your aunt and your mum just buggered off!"

"And?...If they caught me, I wouldn't get in any trouble!"

"Well, you wanna share your 'mummy's boy' energy with me when we, uh...inevitably get found, that'd be great - "

"I'll...try."

"Alright, everybody!" Peri suddenly cried, perched on the highest chair she could find - "Dinner's ready!"

"Wait, what?" Rachel gasped, throwing out her newspaper in a panic and rushing to the oven for her roast chicken - "Peri, I'm supposed to do that!" The guests started chuckling, giving funny looks to Rachel as they pulled out their seats.

By the time Scarlett came rushing back with an empty wine glass, her place next to Peri was already taken.

"Can't I - "

"Oh, no, dear, that seat's for my dear Ducklett," Peri told Scarlett, pulling out the chair on her left, "Go take a seat wherever, I'm sure we can still talk."

"Your mummy calls you Ducklett?" Barnaby chuckled, motioning towards Peri's seat, "Aww." The pair shuffled under the table in a makeshift conga, making a beeline for the free spot.

"Alright, here's the deal," he elaborated, "You slip up there, and you tap your foot to lemme know when your mum's not looking. Then, I take the cake right off the plate and give it to all the kids."

"But you don't have - "

"I've already got the knife," Barney explained, turning a butter knife he'd retrieved from seemingly nowhere around in his hand - "Now go! Go-go-Go!"

Quietly, just as Peri's feet left their chair Maxie slipped up through the tablecloth and onto his seat, acting as nonchalantly as possible and not like he'd just committed the first act of mischief in his life.

It felt a little bit satisfying.

He thought that when he finally found friends by himself, maybe he'd try 'mischievous' again.

With a swish, swish of her red Christmas dress, Peri waltzed into her seat next to Maxie. A ruffle of his hair, peck on the cheek - and all her friends cooed in unison.

There was Hilda, leaning over and commenting how well he'd been dressed up 'unlike Barnaby'. Kirsten, Alphonse, whispering under their breath how lucky he was he turned out alright. Lara only laughed about how long it'd been since they'd last met up. Theo - well, he was already too drunk to listen to Peri's ramblings.

"Peri! Did y' hear about how one of the Sevii Islands got burned down?" Lara questioned, looking down at her huge PokeNav.

"Oh, my!"

"Yes, really…"

"The whole thing?"

"It seems like it!"

"Was it arson or just a wildfire?"

"Well, the Kantonian Government isn't saying anything on the issue, or at least that's what I'm reading…"

"How depressing."

"Yes, quite." Lara finished, putting it away again in disgust, "Anyway, how's your life been?"

"Oh, I'm livin' the dream," Peri exclaimed, "as they say!"

"I heard your sister's still off training in Sinnoh." Hushed whispers from across the table. "You ever think about goin' to join her?"

"Arceus, no." she continued, tucking into her Christmas ham, "I'd never come back."

"Didn't you say something about - "

"Mum? Yeah, mum only let her come if she weren't with her partner. Even then, for some reason, she kept making all these dumb excuses!..."

"Harsh."  
"Don't say that," Peri commented, "or she'll throw you out too."

"Least you've still got your kid!" Kirsten called out before Hilda could say tell her it wasn't helpful in the slightest.

"Yes, it's a lot less lonely with Maxie around…" Peri acknowledged. "...Maxie?"

 _Tap, tap. Tap, tap._

The rug shifted a tiny bit as Barney shuffled off as quietly as he could. The faraway cake suddenly lost a slice without a sound, without anyone noticing.

"Hello? Earth to Maxiiiiie?"

Sweet, sweet victory.

"I was just talking about how you, ah...make me less lonely!"

"...Hm?"

Peri's entire friend group broke into fits of laughter. Even more when Maxie turned around. And even more when they saw the look on his face.

"Oh my god, he's like a spooked deer!"  
"What was he doing?"

"Anyway - " Peri tried to say, but the words died in her mouth.

"I guess you stand corrected!"  
"What's _up_ with him?"

"Nothing's up with him!" she reassured again, pulling him closer and ruffling his hair for the second time. The guests watched closely. Just in case he flinched, which - luckily, he didn't.

 _What had he even done?_

"It's alright. Don't worry about it."  
Someone had gently snuck up behind him, just as he was wanting to get up and leave too. Their voice, he couldn't recognise at first.  
"I haven't seen you in a while, have I?" Scarlett was asking him gently, "It's me, your aunt!"  
It took...many seconds for him to remember who she was.  
 _Aunt Nosey, The-One-Who-Ran-Off -  
_ "Sorry for not giving you the present with everyone else," she commented quickly, turning his attention away from the tittering crowd, "Here."  
Quickly, she pressed a small gift-wrapped box into his hands.  
"I got it from Sunyshore City, all the way over in Sinnoh," she explained, "Thought you might like a little something practical. A late tenth birthday present."  
"What is it?"

Scarlett seemed a little lost for words. Maybe the gift was so good, it wasn't describable.

Meanwhile Peri, on-and-off, shaking, had started watching them. To an outside source, it looked like the pair were sharing a secret.  
"Something special," she continued, hurriedly, quietly, "Don't - don't open it until you're home, though! Tell me what you do with it!" she whispered - she tried to continue, but Maxie had gotten the message.  
"Hey...ah...Aunt?"  
"Yeah."  
"What's it like in Sinnoh?"  
"Really, really...cold, mostly," Scarlett replied, taking a seat in an old rocking chair further off - "Did you ever want to come? Maybe we could try next Christmas…"  
"Ooh! Yes! Yes!"  
It took one second for Peri to mouth 'no,' despite her face looking as hopeful as Maxie's.

"So...what've you been doing while I've been gone?" she asked, motioning for him to put the little present away inside his coat as fast as he could. Hastily, he shoved it into his pocket. Watching as Scarlett did for any movement Peri made.  
 _Tap, tap. Tap, tap._  
Barney would understand if he couldn't do this right. Not now. He would. Wouldn't he?

"Well, me and the other boys, we found a tin of - OW!"  
Maxie screeched as Barney kicked his shin, "We found a tin of...of bouncy balls!" Clenching his teeth, he frantically kicked his leg back, but Barney was already gone.

"Maxie!" Peri gasped, immediately hugging her son like a pillow, "What on earth was that?" By now, half the table was turning towards them - with Rachel among them giving a salty glare.

"Peri, please." she hissed to zero effect.

Scarlett was completely silent, trying to quell the worry she had.

"A…" Maxie blurted, the first thing that came to mind - "A Shinx! I think a Shinx bit me!"

"A Shinx?"

"At this party? Arceus almighty."

"The poor thing!"

"What if it has PokeRus?"

" _Agatha!"_

"What on Earth?"

"Good gracious Groudon!"

Peri's blood grew ten times colder.

"A Shinx, you say?"

Too late now, Maxie thought - nodding.

"Scarlett?" she inquired, kicking back her chair and commanding the table to silence.

"What?" Scarlett replied, her muffled mouth full of turkey - and her Shinx in her lap.

"You're the only person at this party with a Shinx." Peri deduced, motioning towards the sleeping Pokémon in her lap.

"Wait, so, are electric types not allowed this year?" asked her sister, swallowing hard, "I'm telling you, Starlet's been here this entire time, having a nice...a nice snooze!" Starlet stretched its legs, bounding to Scarlett's side with an innocent grin.  
It didn't even look at Maxie.

"Ahh, no." Peri denied, "Clearly it wasn't. Maxie, tell them what the Shinx did to you."  
"It…"  
Was it really too late to go back?  
 _If they caught me, I wouldn't get in any trouble,_ he said, but -  
Not this time. This was the exception.

"Speak up! It's okay!"

"It scratched…?"  
"It bit him!" Peri screeched, causing the whole room to turn around. "It...it bit him." she repeated, trying to regain her composure and look respectable, "Scarlett, can I have a quick word with you?"  
Her sister's mouth went completely dry. A quick look towards Rachel told her she wasn't going to get any help.  
"Ahh...sure, sure…" she whispered, "Not here, though, right?"  
"Yes, here. It's not like we're going to have a catfight in front of my darling, now."  
"No, I'm pretty sure we are."  
"A fight over a cat doesn't count as a catfight!"

"All I'm asking you - " Peri snapped, scooping up the Shinx by the scruff of its neck and holding it aloft like a piece of rubbish, " - is to control your animal! It's Christmas, I shouldn't have to be saying this…We've got rules here. If Alphonse here - not that he would - brought in a Tyrantrum - again, not that he would, we'd kick him out. If it can't be kept under control - it goes, simple as that. Mum makes the rules, not me."  
"Rachel? You wanna say anything about that?"

"No, not really." Rachel told them, drinking her third glass of wine.

"See?" Peri confirmed, "She agrees with me. You should take the thing outside," she ordered, throwing the Shinx into Scarlett's arms, "and if Maxie gets an infection from that bite, you're paying for it." Her friends nodded in agreement. Tutting, scolding.

"Oh, come on." Scarlett groaned.

"What? It's possible." Peri noted, pulling her son beside her. "I mean, obviously I'm going to...patch him up properly...later…get a shot for PokeRus or something…"

Her sister tittered audibly.

"You still don't believe me?"

"No, I just...know your stance on shots, that's all."

A couple of people laughed under their breaths. The crowd suddenly became ten times more interested, as they remembered the rants Peri had 'graciously given' them in the past.  
"Scarlett, for god's sake! ...I'd take care of him properly!"  
"I'm just saying…"  
But there was no point in just saying.

"Why's it that every time one of us confronts you about something, you start getting all passive aggressive?" she finished, "I don't get it - we let you come back, we let you be around us, I admit Mum made a mistake, what more do you want?"  
"Maybe no snarky comments about how I need to find a guy, and...not - not accusing me of something I didn't do?"  
"Look, it - it wasn't going to be perfect first time…"  
"This is why I wanted to wait until...Maxie had a birthday or something. There's just too much pressure here, and I - "  
"So it's our mum that's the problem."

Rachel, surrounded by people who wanted to know why she'd do such a thing, put down her glass of wine and took note of where she'd dumped Scarlett's coat.  
She was going to need it.

"I...suppose…"  
The voice was barely audible, but her mother knew exactly what she said.

"Can - can you not ruin it now?" Peri stammered and groaned, "It's Christmas."  
"Well, let's talk about this later, then! ...Just as long as we...actually do, this time."  
Peri was completely mute.  
They were muttering her name.

"Is this cause I gave - " Scarlett began, before feeling a hand on her shoulder - pulling both the sisters away and into a corner. Maxie only got pushed out of the way and into a wall, harder than he thought the person doing it was capable of.

Rachel, the diminutive old woman who'd been sitting in her seat a couple of seconds before, had her two daughters in her grip.

"You two. Quiet." she mumbled, taking them aside - she thought she was speaking quietly, but the whole room was listening - "Scarlett? Do you know where you left your bags?"

Scarlett's face faded paler than wax, instantly.

"You're not...kicking me out again, are you?"

"Yeah, I am," Rachel replied, "Sorry. I should've known a catfight was going to happen. You talked about it with me, but I didn't, uh...think you'd start one yourself? God."  
Scarlett gulped, looking up at Peri and wondering whether 'sorry' would work this time. Her sister handed her back the bottle of wine she'd brought, and waited for her to start making her way outside with her beloved Shinx. She gave a knowing look to Maxie, motioning towards her jacket pocket - until Rachel told her what she already knew.

"I'm sorry, but you're going to have to leave."

Quietly, inconspicuously, with none of the other guests noticing her leaving, she walked straight out the door. Of course, this was going to happen; part of her didn't even mind. Part of her expected to go back to Sinnoh with another story for dear Azzie about how awful her mum was.

But of course - the thing she expected least happened.  
Before she could even blink -  
Peri got shoved right out the door as well.  
"What - no - "  
"You're going too, Peri," Rachel snapped, "You're both responsible."  
"Mum, she's the one that - "  
"No excuses. Out."  
"And the guests haven't even had - "  
"Your cake? The one you didn't even bring?"  
"WHAT?"

Sure enough, the cake was completely gone, with just crumbs in its place. Maxie had just enough time to curse under his breath before he was dragged away with Peri - of course Barney never showed himself.  
"Christmas is supposed to be about family, Peri," Rachel explained, like she was still talking to a small child - "I don't think you get that, do you?" she finished, looking towards Maxie's face - he looked exactly like a deer in headlights.  
"I ...he's fine." Peri whispered, reflexively. Quickly, she hid her son.  
"You should leave."  
And with that, Rachel shuffled back to the dining hall, leaving her daughters to exit out two separate doors. Peri could hear her sniffling a little - already muttering about her, no doubt.

The pair didn't speak to each other as they stood outside the estate in the pouring rain, nor did they bid each other farewell as Scarlett left for a bus and Peri released her Altaria. For a second, Peri thought about offering her a ride on the luxurious bird.  
For a second.  
There was only room for two, she thought, as she bundled Maxie onto its wings, strapped herself and him into the leather harness and told him to hold on as tight as he could. The Altaria took off down the driveway, swooping into the curtain of water and leaving the house far, far below her.  
Her son wasn't saying a word. Unusual - especially after Christmas.

"Maxie?"  
"Yeah?" he replied, trying to react as fast as he could this time.  
"We'll have the rest of Christmas Day at home," Peri offered with a smile, "I'll order some roast chicken, baked Slowpoke tail, some lava cookies…And we'll send a nice picture to your grandma to show her that we're having fun anyway!"  
"Mmhm."

And at that moment, Maxie realised what 'the rest of Christmas Day' meant. Presents, the only part he could honestly say he looked forward to.

The little package in his coat was burning a hole in it, and carefully, quietly, gingerly, hoping that the wind would drown out the noise, that Peri was too focused on not crashing to notice the wrapping paper falling away in the wind, that whatever was inside wouldn't fall the hundred feet to the hard, cold ground -  
He cracked it open.

Inside was something he'd seen a thousand times - and hoped a thousand times he'd hold one day himself.

A Great Ball.

Shining blue like the sea and with a sticker - no, a seal - on its top that looked like a gigantic blue, spirit flame. It was polished to a sheen, glinting in the evening light.  
Of course - he'd gushed to Scarlett about the ghost stories when he'd last had a call from her. He'd begged her to find something Spiritomb-related for Christmas, but looking back, this was better than a book.  
What else would she possibly get him on Christmas Day?  
No time for amazement. The ball was easy to hide. Into the pocket it went, and Maxie put on his best poker face.

"I'm...I'm sorry about that, ducklett," Peri sighed, "I'll make sure this doesn't happen again, alright? And I'll bake a cake that isn't filled with something you can't even drink," she snapped quietly, "Altaria? Take us home, and make it snappy."

And with that, the Altaria fell, and fell, and fell.


End file.
